Say You'll Remember Me
by what a feeling
Summary: "You can mourn the dead, Percy, but you can't forget to celebrate the living." Percy's trying to come to terms with what his birthday means to different people. Canonverse, one shot. Complete.


**Happy birthday, Percy! xx**

When Percy rolls over, sunlight is already shining into his eyes. Squinting slightly and scowling at the window, he throws his arm over his eyes. The fact that he doesn't have to shake Annabeth off is what really wakes him up. With a groan, he turns over to his other side to empty sheets. He frowns slightly to himself- She hardly ever wakes up before him, and he'd gotten used to her warmth being the first thing he experiences every morning.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he shoves off the sheets and makes ambles out the door and down the hall. There's a faint sound of Annabeth humming tunelessly to Coldplay that's being played so softly, Percy isn't sure if he's imagining it. He finds her working away busily in the kitchen, which is again, unusual for her- He was the one usually in charge of the cooking.

"'Morning." He yawns. When she sees him, her face lights up.

"Happy birthday, sleepy." She beams, abandoning the pancake on the pan to move over and wrap her arms around his waist. He smiles at her with his eyes still half closed as she presses her lips to his for a second before pulling away with a scowl.

"What?"

"Morning breath. Perce, go- Just go brush your teeth." Annabeth can't hold her glare for long, though. A small smile breaks through eventually and Percy winks at her. He leans in close to her ear so his breath is warm against her skin, and huskily, he mutters,

"Your pancakes are burned."

Before walking out of the kitchen. Annabeth doesn't respond, mostly because she practically flies back to the stove. With a grin, he stretches his muscles lazily, hearing the satisfying click.

When he comes back out, there's a two plates of pancakes laid out on the table, complete with glasses of orange juice, a bottle of maple syrup and a bowl of fruit for each of them. Annabeth's even gone far enough to clear out her blueprints from the previous night and he's pretty sure the house looks a lot cleaner than it did when he left Annabeth to finish up on her work.

"You cleaned this place up?"

"Took me like, two hours." Annabeth admits with a shrug, taking a seat beside him.

"What time did you get to bed?" He asks, having no recollection whatsoever. Annabeth shrugs, like it's no big deal.

"Like, three, half past, maybe?" It comes out like a question. Percy gives her a pointed look.

"And when were you up?" He gestures to their plates. "And don't lie to me. I know it takes you twice as long to make edible pancakes." Annabeth scowls at him.

"I just wanted to do something for you, for a change." She snaps. "I really should start pulling my weight in this house." Percy softens, reaching out to take her hand.

"Hey, listen to me." He says, and she looks up to meet his eyes. "We've got a system, right? You've just started working- Don't worry. Once you get used to it, we'll figure something out."

"What have I ever done to deserve you." Annabeth chokes out a laugh, and Percy's so happy she's smiling that he can't help cock a smile himself.

"Beats me. I never cease to amaze myself."

oOo

The rest of the day goes by pretty fast. Annabeth leaves to work soon after breakfast, promising to make up for it after dinner, which gives Percy a _lot_ to look forward to. He has to get to work soon, too, and is locking the door behind him when a voice calls,

"Bla-ha-ha! Percy!" His head whips around, palm already closing around his magical pen in his pocket when he notices Grover beaming at him, Iris image glittering in the sun. He cocks a grin at his best friend from Camp.

"Hey, G-Man. How's it going?"

"Happy birthda-a-y!" He bleats excitedly. His girlfriend pops into view. She waves at Percy.

"Happy birthday, Percy!" Juniper calls. She looks a lot bigger than she did when Percy last saw her, and he nods to the two of them.

"Thank you guys. How are you doing, Juniper?" She shrugs, rubbing her belly absently.

"Alright, I think. I'm due in a month, now, and I'm getting pretty damn heavy." She sighs.

Percy talks to the two of them for a while longer until he realizes he's late to work. Swearing under his breath, he swipes his hand through the Mist.

As he drives down, his phone buzzes loudly. He has to pull up before answering. Both Percy and Annabeth take road rules very seriously. When there's so many monsters out to kill you, Annabeth had once said, why make their lives easier? Be safe. Piss off the monsters.

"Happy birthday, Kelp Head." Is how Thalia greets him. He grins, knowing she can't see him. It's nice to hear her voice again.

"Where are you?" He asks. "Are you-?"

"At Camp. Yeah, I'm picking Annabeth up. Do you want to come?"

Truth is, Percy does want to go. He wants to hold Annabeth and tell her that he'd never let her suffer alone, but he can't- He can't promise her something he'll never be able to deliver. That would only break her further. He wants to support her and tell her she'll be okay, but how can he stand there, over a gravestone of a man whose death _he_ was responsible for, and expect her to ever believe it?

"I think it's best for you two girls to go." Percy says, voice thick. There's a pause.

"You should come." Thalia says quietly.

He can't, though. If he goes, she might see- How it was all him. He'd been the reason the world almost ended, and he was the reason she lost someone so close to her. Athena had told him he'd choose a friend over the world, but she was wrong. He did have the chance, and he picked the world, _himself_ , over Annabeth. When she sees it- Percy doesn't want to know what would happen then.

"No, it's something-"

"Percy, listen to me. Annabeth was seven when we met her. She looked at us differently. The bond she shared with Luke- It wasn't what you thought. It's a lot deeper than that- A lot deeper than what _I_ had with him. I think it's important for you to understand this." Her voice is soft but her tone is clear: Percy really has no choice.

oOo

His phone buzzes the whole time he's at work with texts from Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Nico, Will, and all his friends from Camp- Both Camps. Hazel and Frank ring him up, too to wish him. Even Clarisse sends him a bunch of pictures of him looking, well, not his best, with a birthday wish. He finishes up his classes with the kids by noon, and heads down to lunch with his mom and Paul. His little sister bounds up to him and tackles him in a hug.

"Happy birthday, Percy!" She squeals as he hoists her up. "Where's Annabee?" She frowns, looking over his shoulder like she may be hiding. Why Sophie had taken such a liking to his girlfriend is beyond him (Maybe Annabeth just has a way of trapping Jacksons under her charm). When she was a lot younger, Sophie'd call her Annabee because she couldn't say her name properly, but it had just stuck over the years. It was probably the only nickname Percy's ever heard someone call Annabeth, except maybe the Stolls, with their endless list.

"She's at work, Soph. She'll see you in a while." He says as they sit down for lunch.

"How was work, dear?" His mom asks politely, and he tells them about his day teaching children with learning disabilities. Percy loves his job- It makes him feel like he's helping younger versions of himself, helping kids struggling with problems he faced as a child, and teaching them that it's absolutely alright- That anyone can be a hero, even a twelve year old ADHD boy who drooled in his sleep. (That's a tale he left out, of course.)

"What are you doing for the rest of the day?" Paul asks, taking a bite of his lasagna.

"Oh, Thalia's going to pick Annabeth and me up and I think we're heading to the cemetery, but I don't think I have any big plans for the day."

"No plans exclusive to Annabeth?" His mom winks at him, causing Percy's face to heat up so much, he wouldn't be surprised if someone fried an egg on his cheek. He clears his throat, eyes darting to Sophie, who's watching the conversation intently.

" _Mom_." He says pointedly.

"What?" She asks innocently. "No dinner dates?"

"You're terrible, Sally." Paul says with a loud laugh, and his mom joins in. Percy rolls his eyes.

"Of course I have plans with Annabeth, but it's just not something I thought you guys would be interested in." He plays along, except his mom's eyes light up and he thinks he's going down the wrong road.

"So can I expect grandkids, or is that still not on the table?" It's Sophie who saves Percy from answering, because she looks up at their mom with large blue eyes.

"Mommy, how does Percy give you grandkids?"

oOo

Thalia's car rolls up outside the Jackson-Blofis residence not a minute later than five in the evening. Percy slides into the passenger seat, and she gives him a long hug before starting up the engine. On the way, they talk about what they've been doing over the last couple of months. Percy's very worried they're going to get pulled up because Thalia looks too young to be driving, but nobody seems to pay them any attention.

They pick up Annabeth and head down to the cemetery. Percy's a little surprised that Annabeth's smiling, really. Over the last eight years, he'd always believed the only reason she smiled around him on his birthday was because she cried her eyes out when she and Thalia visited the grave. He definitely didn't expect her to be so laid back about it. She and Thalia laugh about a memory from years ago, and it confuses Percy.

All these years, he's been beating himself up over the Titan War, and Annabeth doesn't seem particularly bothered? He wonders why she even goes, maybe it's some kind of tradition. Thalia must notice his confusion, because she shoots him a glance and a nod, as if to say, _don't lose heart yet_.

oOo

Percy's wondered what Annabeth does when she visits him before. He'd thought up a million different scenarios in his head, but he'd _never_ expected her to just kneel before the tombstone, and… Talk.

Percy'd held her hand the whole way, but she'd gently pulled away before taking her place on the ground. Percy almost followed her, but Thalia stopped him with a shake of her head. Right now, he's watching Annabeth talk in a low voice, and he's confused.

"-He's twenty three, now. So am I, obviously. I started working a couple of months ago. I did it, Luke. I'm an architect now. Thals is here, too. Just like every year. I wish she'd talk to you- but you'd forgive her, right? That's what family does…"

Percy can't listen anymore. He breaks his gaze from her, instead meeting Thalia's eyes.

"Why did you make me come?" He asks. "She's talking to granite. Are you trying to show me that she's crazy, I mean-"

"She's talking to his spirit, Percy." Thalia says in a hushed voice. "Telling him about her year. That's all she does every year. You were scared about it, and I wanted you to see for yourself that it's nothing you should get upset over."

"But it's _Luke_. She must be _broken_ -"

"Look at her, Percy. Does she look upset to you?"

"Not really." Percy admits.

"She isn't. You make her happy, Percy. The first year- That was pretty hard to watch, but she's fine now. You don't live your life regretting those who are lost. You live in the present."

"It's my fault, Thalia." Percy tells her. Here, in front of Luke Castellan's grave, he feels strangely safe. Like he could tell them everything bothering him, and they'd just listen to him. Maybe that's the feeling that compels Annabeth to keep coming back every year. "I could have chosen to not give him the knife. He'd be alive, Annabeth would be safe, happy."

Thalia shakes her head. "If it was your tombstone she was sitting before, Percy, Luke wouldn't be here with her. He was like a brother to her. If she lost you- I don't want to stick around to see that happen."

Percy doesn't respond. Instead, he looks back at Annabeth.

"-I really do love him, Luke. You'd have liked him, too. He's grown into such a wonderful man. I'm proud to know him at all. I have to go, though, because you- You're just an idea, Luke. He's right here, beside me. I love you."

She drops a single white lily before the stone and gets to her feet, beaming at the two of them.

"You guys ready?"

When she catches up to him, Percy puts his arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Thalia is walking well ahead of them, and he can tell she's giving him the chance to talk to Annabeth about anything that's bothering him.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth." He says. "It's my fault you have to go through this every year."

" _Go through this_?" She repeats. "Perce- I come here because I want to. It's a personal choice."

"Yeah, but- It's my fault that Luke's-" He struggles to say it. "Dead."

"He died a long time ago, when he chose to serve Kronos." Annabeth tells him, and they slow to a stop. She reaches out, taking his face in her hands and tilting it down towards her. "You can mourn the dead, Percy, but you can't forget to celebrate the living."

She reaches up, taking his lips in hers and giving him a long, slow kiss.

oOo

Percy's twenty third birthday dinner is one of the best he's had. Fir the first time in his eight years, he isn't wondering whether Annabeth's upset when she laughs at his jokes. He isn't worrying about her or trying to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders.

They're out at a fancy restaurant, and Percy's wearing a light blue shirt and Annabeth's wearing a midnight blue dress and they're matching without meaning to. He's eating fish and Annabeth's eating chicken and they're talking and laughing. Another year's passed, and the miracle of life doesn't stop amazing him.

She's teasing him about something and she takes his hand in hers, and the world is, for the first time, in perfect harmony with itself.

"Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain." She gives him a large, childlike grin that takes him back to when they were thirteen years old. He kisses her then, a proper kiss, and he finally understands what she's trying to give him on his birthday.

Sure, there's some grief, but there's also peace and security and love. There's acceptance of the past, but more importantly, hope for the future.

For Percy, he thinks that's something he can handle just fine.


End file.
